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The Faith and Values Forum Interviews

Anyone watch?

I thought both candidates probably considered themselves as having a successful outing there - and they're probably both right. The crowd was definitely more favorable to the conservative viewpoints, but I thought Obama (as he has always done, really) did a great job of answering questions on abortion and stem cell research in respectful and honest ways that (surprisingly) seemed pretty well received given the makeup of the crowd.

Granted, I'm biased, but it did seem to me that McCain was looking for any possible openings to just reiterate stump speech talking points ("I'll follow him to the gates of hell!"/"drill now!") that had little to do with the actual questions asked, while Obama was giving a little more thought to actually directly answering the questions put to him. It seemed to me that for nearly every other question that McCain got, his answer amounted essentially to "I was a POW". It's an amazing sacrifice he made for his country, and I'd never question that, but the way in which he's milking that experience for all it's worth makes me wonder if he won't reach a point of diminishing returns on it and/or cheapen its value (as perceived by voters) through endless repetition.

Ok, first, a disclaimer. I only saw the first 15 mins or so of Obama and then saw the McCain portion on replay. Also, I am a McCain supporter.

I was impressed with how McCain handled himself. I'm well aware of Obama's ability to convey a message and in turn make McCain look less than smooth when he speaks. I was quite impressed with how McCain handled himself, and didn't seem to stumble. I'm not referring to issues at all, just in the general way he came off.

Not a McCain supporter but ummm yeah BHO got handled. I believe Barack did a good job at being thoughtful and reflective (qualities that I personally value) but that ain't what people wanna hear. Although it was a "Faith Forum" (whatever that means) it was still a politcal event, another opportunity for him to connect with people and help them understand what he's all about and I don't think he was able to do that.

Same disclaimers as before, but I'm now watching the CNN commentary on the forum.

It seems to me that the general consensus is that McCain handled himself "well" and even "won" the night, if there is such a thing. It should also be said that a few of the commentators said that the bar was set low for McCain based on his prior speaking engagements or his "problems" with expressing himself.

I think McCain based on performance, Obama won on content. Sadly, content is so undervalued by Americans these days.

McCain continued his horrific anti-Russia, pro-Georgia initiative. The gates of hell thing with Bin Laden was completely dumb. And then he had a lot of things, such as the abortion issue, where he just through out evangelical rhetoric.

I think the moderator did a pretty good job, for what this forum was, although he was a little friendlier towards McCain. I

I think McCain based on performance, Obama won on content. Sadly, content is so undervalued by Americans these days.

McCain continued his horrific anti-Russia, pro-Georgia initiative. The gates of hell thing with Bin Laden was completely dumb. And then he had a lot of things, such as the abortion issue, where he just through out evangelical rhetoric.

I think the moderator did a pretty good job, for what this forum was, although he was a little friendlier towards McCain. I

I don't think you can say one won on content. I mean that's based on individual opinions. If I'm pro-life, I'm going to think McCain wins on the abortion issue, while a pro choice person would say that Obama won. I don't think you can calculate that. It's an individual self fulfilling prophecy. You support Obama for whatever the issues that are important to you and therefore when he talks about those issues he will always win (in your mind) on content, and likewise for me McCain.

Apparently the Obama camp agreed that McCain did a good job, so much so that they are questioning weather McCain was able to hear the questions when Obama was getting them. This was brought up on meet the press and has lead to the McCain camp protesting NBC's coverage of the campaign.

I agree with the post 2 up (#11), and also think that the audience and mediator did create a favorable environent for McCain because the crowd was bound to be much more enthusiastic about his responses since it was pretty much a conservative congregation.

And yeah, I read that the mediator (can't remember his name now) later acknowledged that although he'd said McCain was in a "cone of silence" backstage, McCain actually left his hotel around the time Obama's questions started and was in his limo for about 30 minutes before arriving at the venue. The McCain camp has said he didn't listen to the questions while in the car, and the mediator said he takes him at his word on that. So whether he actually turned on the television or not is something that can only be speculated on. The Obama camp said they didn't intend to pursue that, that as far as they know both candidates got the same information.